Rachel's Accident
by xmellyxox
Summary: this is from S01E06, its kind of what would have happened if Rachel had got hit by the car... hope its okaaay!
1. Chapter 1

**This is a 'what could've happened if Rachel had of got hit by a car'. Taken from Series 1 episode 6.**

**Please review! Hope its ok:D**

**Big thanks to Megan, who helped me with it :')**

**Chapter 1:**

"£2.40 please love" the shop assistant said, passing Rachel her bag. Rachel handed over her change and grabbed the paper off the counter. She left the newsagents and began to walk across the high-street, fetching her phone out of her pocket. She saw Nick's name light up on the caller ID. She just grunted, cancelling the call. She had had enough of Nick at the minute. He was being his usual self. Maybe Janet was right, was he only trying to keep her sweet?

She didn't have much time to think about it. She didn't have much time to move out of the way. She didn't have much time to realise that a car was coming towards her at 30 miles an hour. She didn't have time to do anything. She just froze, seeing her life flash before her eyes as the metal crunched as she rolled up and over the bonnet. The car didn't stop. It careered in between the two barriers, and the driver got out. He was young, early twenties. He turned around to see what he had done, and after seeing the woman lying helplessly, not moving, he began to run. He sped of down the high street, not giving a backwards glance as to what he had done.

"Hello, love can you hear me? My names Natasha. Everything's going to be ok. I've phoned an ambulance ok? You're going to be fine." The woman began searching for Rachel's phone in her pockets, trying to find some ID. At this point Rachel was barely conscious. She couldn't move, and the woman seemed as though she was whispering. Rachel had no energy to say anything, so she just lay there, trying to stay awake. "I'm going to ring your friend Janet ok? Are you close with her? She's at the top of your contact list yeah?" Rachel tried to force a nod, but her head was killing and she could feel blood dripping down her neck.

The woman had turned Rachel over onto her back, and was checking for a pulse by the time the ambulance had arrived. She had slipped back into unconsciousness, and her pulse was very weak. There Rachel lay, in a pool of her own blood, not moving, her eyes closing tighter.

Following the ambulance there were several police cars and whilst the paramedics bundled Rachel onto a bed, wrapping temporary bandages around her lower left leg, right ankle, head and both wrists. They had put a neck support around her, stopping it was falling floppy. They needed to assess the damage more carefully.

A female officer was already on the phone to Janet, whilst several other officers and forensics were going over the car. Natasha had given her statement, and was now speaking to another officer about any other details she could give, that weren't quite needed in her statement, but could be vital to the case.

XxxXxxX

"Hello is this Janet?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Hello. I'm DC Smith; CID for Manchester Metropolitan Police. I believe you know Rachel Bailey?"

"Yes. What? Why? What's happened?"

"I'm sorry to say your friend has been involved in a road traffic accident. She is unconscious and barley breathing. She was hit by a car on the outskirts of Chadderton half an hour ago. She is on way to Royal Oldham now, I can't tell you much until you speak to the hospital, but she is in a critical condition."

"Oh my God. What…what happened officer?"

"We aren't sure yet, but a woman that phoned for the ambulance said it looked like a hit and run. The driver is unknown and nowhere to be seen, but hopefully once the car has been examined by the lab we will have a bit of a clue"

"Right, fine whatever. Thanks bye"

Janet hung up and grabbed her handbag, shouting up the stairs as she went. "Girls! Here now!" Elise and Taisie ran down the stairs, shoving each other as they came. "Look! Stop it! I need to go to the hospital. It's Rachel; she's been involved in an accident. I'm going to pick Gill up on the way, please be good and don't kill each other…" Janet trailed off as she realised…_that's what someone had tried to do to Rachel. _"…anyway. Be good! Please!"

She jumped into her car and phoned Gill on her hands free. "Gill, it is Janet. I've had a call from the hospital. Rachel's been hit by a car and its serious. Apparently hit and run. I'm going to head down there now, I'll pick you up on the way if you like, it doesn't sound good"

"Right ok cock, see you in 5." Gill slammed the phone down and leapt up. All these images of her young DC lying there helplessly were flashing through her mind. She tried to shake them to the back of her mind whilst she locked the front door but they came back stronger. She had never really got on that well with Rachel, she knew she was a good DC, but she spoke before thinking which more often than not landed her in trouble but she did care. She cared about all of her team, and it was her duty of care to look after them, whether that was in the office or in their own personal lives.

They made their way to the hospital, not speaking much along the way. "DCI Murray MIT. I'm here about Rachel Bailey" Gill said sharply, shoving her ID under the receptionist's nose. "Take a seat, someone will be along in a minute" the younger woman replied. "You don't understand. I'm a Chief Inspector! Can you tell me where she is? I have a right to know and I have a right to know NOW!" "Yes, well I'm sorry _inspector…"_

"Janine, drop it. DCI Murray, come this way" a voice from behind them spoke.

"I'm Dr Phillips. Your constables in a very serious condition. We have taken her down to theatre to repair any internal bleeding, and then we will make a start on her casts. She has taken a big bulk of the shock when the car hit, her lungs crushed against her organs, which was what was making it hard for her to breathe. She has broken her left arm in three places, and her right wrist is badly fractured, her ankle tissue has been ripped on the lower left leg, and she had a dislocated knee. We also suspect there to be some damage to her neck, but we are unsure of the full extent at the moment. Depending on how the surgery goes, she could end up in a coma, which is something we don't particularly want…she has been very lucky. She could've been killed instantly, she's very tough"

Janet just nodded, sitting down on the chair closest. She put her head in her hands and sighed. She knew this was going to be a long night. Gill sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "She's going to be ok Jan, don't worry. We know Sherlock, she never gives up!" "I know, I know. I just want to catch whoever did this" Janet replied weakly. "So do I love, and we will. Once we get the lab results that little creep won't know what's hit him."

XxxXxxX

"Boss? We've had a report come through; hit and run. Young Brunette woman, early to mid-thirties. She is in hospital at the moment; apparently it's too big a case to have CID deal with. It sounds as if she was a target. The lab is currently analysing the results before they pass them onto us. I was just wondering what time you would be in today? Rachel's not here yet and neither is Janet, so I just wondered how far away you are…" Gill listened half-heartedly to Andy rattling on the other end of the phone. Tears were dripping down her face. The team had no idea, that the young woman they were describing was one of their own. That the young woman was hanging onto a life support about 3 feet from where Gill was sitting.

She took a deep breath and broke into Andy's sentence. "Andy. There's something you and the rest of the team need to know. Me and Janet aren't going to be in today, and we may only pop in tomorrow quickly. The girl…woman…you're talking about…it's…it's…" "Boss? Are you ok?" all Andy could hear was muffled sobs. "It was Rachel. It was Rachel who was hit. Its Rachel who's lying in intensive care, wires left, right and centre into her" Gill babbled. She let more tears come out. Janet was curled up on the two chairs next to her.

Gill managed to catch Andy's reaction. Even on the end of a phone she knew exactly what it was. "What's going on?" she heard Kevin say. Andy began to stumble with his words, saying anything that came into his mouth. "Andy! Andy listen to me, it's up to you and the rest of the team to solve this. I'll keep you updated but please try and treat it like a normal case. Tell the team; please stay clam though, for all of us Andy"

Gill hung up and let her phone slip out of her hand onto the floor. She clutched Rachel's hand and squeezed it, reassuring them both things would be ok. She closed her eyes again, trying not to imagine life without Sherlock. Yes she drove her up the wall and around the bend sometimes, but she was good, and one day she would be very good. She was a lot like Rachel in her younger days; a maverick, heads not screwed on properly, throws around information before picking up the nitty-gritty, but in the end manages to get the result they all hope for.

XxxXxxX

Back in the office Andy stood, staring at the floor. He had never really got on that well with Rachel, mostly because of Janet, but he still did care, as did everyone. "Um, that was um…Gill…Boss…Rach-…Rachel's the woman. In this. She's the one that got hit…um, Gill and Janet are…at the hospital now…um she…she's in intensive care… um, we need to…we need to sort this case out…for Rachel…make sure whoever did this gets justice…"

Andy could feel the tension in the office, it was silent. You could cut it with a knife; no-one had spoken unless they had to. Everyone was working; Kevin had got folders of paperwork, and was busy compiling a list to T.I.E. He never did much work, and spent more time doodling in his notebook, but this time he was focused. He had been more focused for the past half an hour than he had been for all his time at Gill's syndicate.

"Kevin we are going to take a break, go to the canteen, you coming?" Pete said, shuffling up behind him. "No thanks. I'm going stay here, try and sort this paperwork out" Kevin replied, not even looking up from his desk. Pete glanced between Mitch and Lee, who were looking at Kevin with puzzled looks on their faces. "I just want to find who did this" he added, picking up more paper.

"Fine, we'll bring you back a sandwich then" Andy said, tapping his back as they left the office. Kevin skimmed through the various witness accounts reading only the slight details until there was a call from Gill's office. He sprung up and ran to the office door and knocked it. he stood for a couple of seconds before realising that no-one was in there, so he burst in, diving across Gill's neat desk to reach the phone. "Hello?" he gasped, straggling across the desk. "Hi, I've got the lab results. Is someone able to come pick them up in the next hour?" a voice said from the other end.

Kevin let out an angry sigh, he was hoping it would have been the hospital or Gill, but on the other hand he knew that the lab results meant they would have more DNA links. "Hello? Are you still there?" the voice prompted. "Right, yes sorry. I shall be over there in half an hour. Thank you" Kevin grabbed a note pad from Gill's desk and scribbled a note; '_gone to lab. Results in. Kev' _

He ran out of the office and jumped three or four steps at a time, before bursting through reception and into one of the cars. He had never actually been on his own before, he felt so grown up, but he realised how important it was to get this right. He sped off towards the lab, pushing the speed limit most the way.

The technician was waiting for him and as soon as Kevin flashed his ID the bag was handed to him. "Thanks. I'll get DCI Murray or DS Roper to call you later" he shouted behind him, running back outside. It was the quickest he had moved in ages. He was back in the office an hour later: Andy and the others weren't back yet, so Kevin had time to read through it.

'_DNA results: Daniel Tippet; DNA traces on steering wheel. Circulated as wanted._

_PNC results: car belonged to Kings Chambers '_

As Kevin skipped the rest, he realised that the agency was familiar. He was racking his brain from where he had heard of it, he could picture the front of it. He had overheard Rachel, Gill and Janet discussing it once in the office, but he hadn't really been paying much attention…when was it? It was after the Georgios Stelikos case; when Gill gave Rachel a bollocking for telling Nick all that stuff…_wait._ That's Nick's agency! Since when do barristers have cars registered to them?!

Kevin shook his head and got back to reading the results…not quite piecing together what he had read…

XxxXxxX

Back at the hospital, Gill and Janet had taken it in turns to go for a walk. They were tired, stiff and grumpy, but they weren't going to leave her alone. The surgeons had managed to stop the bleeding, but until she was more stable, they couldn't examine her properly which meant they didn't know if she had any brain damage. It wasn't something they wanted to hear, but they had to remain strong.

The doctors had warned them that she could be on life support for days, and in the unlikely event that she didn't improve over the next few weeks, they would have to discuss turning off the machine. Janet pushed this to the back of her mind. _She WAS going to get better _but Janet couldn't help thinking the worst, it's what came with the job.

All the wires were like spaghetti junction. There were three going into her stomach, one in each wrist, pipes up her nose and down her sides, and her oxygen mask and drip where also stuck to her.

"Kevin's just text me. He said that he's worked something out, but he can't access the main files. I will need to go in tomorrow for half an hour, I think you should come to Janet. Change of scenery. The doc will let us know if there's any change. He promised…that reminds me, I need to look at her phone. I know she will kill us but there may be something" Gill said flatly, not moving her eyes off Rachel.

"I've a good mind to suspect bloody Savage" Janet said bitterly. "She should have told you. She's been dating him again. I told her that he was only seeing her so she wouldn't spill about his relationship with the juror, but you know Rachel. She was insistent that he wanted to marry her for her and not for the information but…" Janet trailed off as she saw Gill's face turn to stone.

"I swear if I bump into savage I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope this is okay, I am aware it's not brilliant, but school is VERY stressful at the moment and I've tried to write it as quickly as I can ;')**

**Please reviewwww! (:**

**Chapter 2:**

The next morning Gill and Janet were on their way into the office. The doctors had advised them to go elsewhere, to take their mind off Rachel, and that if there was any change they would be contacted. It was early, but they wanted time to get in before all the questions came. She was still heavily sedated and on life support. She now had casts on both arms and metal supports on her legs. The only progress she had made was that the doctors had managed to remove the stickers from her chest after all the tests.

As they walked through the door they noticed a light was on and the kettle had just begun to boil. "Hello?" Gill called, walking further in. this was the first time she felt slightly weird.

"Hi Boss! Janet. Would you like a coffee?" Kevin said, appearing from the briefing room in his dressing gown. Gill stared at him, looking at him up and down; lost. "Um, hi, Kevin. Why…why are you here so early; and um…why are you in your dressing gown?" she stumbled, unsure whether or not she actually wanted to hear the answer.

"Well you see, I wanted to get to the bottom of this case. I hate the fact Rachel's attacker is still walking around, it makes me sick. Why would someone do that? To Rachel though? She's so lovely! I thought that seeing as I was going to be working late and coming in early, I thought I would save money and petrol and just camp. I've bought my sleeping bag and a wash bag, and a couple of pairs of clothes, and there's spare food in the fridge along with whatever Rachel left in there last week so I am all set! Also, there are toilets downstairs and your office chair is SO comfortable" Kevin finished his story and looked at his Boss, who couldn't get any words out.

"Anyway, I best get back. I've started to plan an arrest strategy. Did you know they are so much harder than they look? Anyway, I reckon if we play our cards right, and the CCTV I collected yesterday night from the newsagents, the main suspect is the one that was driving the car…"

"I'd never have guessed. So basically you have come to a conclusion that whoever hit Rachel in a car was driving the car at the time?" Gill replied dryly, making Janet snigger.

"No. well yes, but what I'm saying is; the lab results match the DNA of someone called "Daniel Tippet. No idea who he is, but apparently, well according to Andy he had been inside more times that I've had hot dinners, and that he is a nutcase. Sooo…what I was thinking, is if we can get this arrest drawn up in the next few hours, we can arrest him, and then I can interview him along with Mitch and hopefully move forward!" Kevin clapped his hands together and scurried back into the briefing room that had been turned into a camp, slamming the door as he went.

"Am I dreaming?" Gill asked, looking around the room. She didn't have time to answer her own question, as Kevin burst back out, just in his angry birds boxers. "Sorry Boss, ill um change in a bit but um I've found something else you see, apparently the PNC of the vehicle shows that it belongs to an agency, anyway, I checked it out and it belongs to Nick's company, or the company that Nick works for, or something along those lines SO he obviously has something to do with it SO is there any chance we could arrest him as well? We have enough to say the car belonged to him! Also, Andy managed to get onto Rachel's phone because we weren't sure when you were coming back and so we found out that Rachel received many calls from Nick that day, all of which she cancelled apart from one which lasted approximately 2 minutes , 38 seconds. She also received texts from him, but they weren't really that important BUT he called her at 11:25 yesterday and comparing it to the CCTV footage, the time that fits perfectly shows Rachel was hit by the car at 11:26, which could suggest if Nick's not involved, then it's a bit of a coincidence if he just decided to call her at that time, on that day so what do you think Boss, can we arrest?" Kevin let out a gasp.

He had never spoken for so long before. There was silence whilst Gill and Janet stood baffled; trying to digest what Kevin had just thrown at her. "Right ok, wait for Mitch and the others to get in, get your vests on and arrest him. It's up to you Kevin. Prove yourself" Gill said, walking past him into her office. "Thanks Boss! I won't let you down!" Kevin said, turning to run out of the door. "Err Kevin! You may want to put some clothes on first! You'll feel the cold going out like that!" Janet said, sitting down at her desk.

"Oh yeah, right ok. I'll just go and…oh and can we not tell Mitch about this?"

"Yes, fine!"

"Oh and Boss?" Kevin queried.

"What?" Gill replied sharply.

"I don't normally wear angry bird pants, they were my old ones…well they are my old ones…my normal ones are in the wash, I just grabbed these from the drawers…"

"Yes, right ok Kevin, thank you for that"

"No problem Boss, like I say, normally my pants have either batman or robin on…I also think I have a pair of superman somewhere…"

"Right Kevin, I going to stop you right there. I REALLY don't want to know about your fatigues…I want Savage's arrest report on my desk by lunchtime. Now go and put some clothes on!"

"Right, ok thanks Boss"

Kevin ran back into the other room and shut the door. He got changed in record time and packed his holdall back up, shoving it under the desk along with his sleeping bag. He collected his vest and put Mitch and Andy's on their desks. By this time the station was starting to fill up, and the traffic outside was getting louder.

"DCI Murray MIT?"

"Hello, this is Dr Phillips. I just wanted to let you know we have removed a few more of Rachel's pipes; and we are going to do a CT scan later, just in case there's anything we have missed. Hopefully, if she improves like she had been so far, she should awake for a few minutes either tonight or tomorrow, and then hopefully we shall see progress!"

"Thank you. Thank you so much Doc, I'll let everyone know. Bye!"

Gill hung up and jumped out of her office. "The doctor has said that more of Rachel's pipes have been removed, and she should start wake for a few minutes tonight or tomorrow!"

Everyone was in the office by now; they were relieved that Rachel was making steady progress. Kevin was jumping around like a puppy, tugging on Mitch's arms to get moving so he could 'make his arrest' whilst Andy was taking the mick by going as slow as he could.

XxxXxxX

"Nicholas Savage?"

"Yeah."

"I am arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of Detective Constable Rachel Bailey. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Hands behind your back please"

Kevin attached the cuffs to the back of the barrister's wrists and handed him over to Lee and Mitch, who lead him out of the chambers.

"This is ridiculous! I would never hurt Rachel! I love her! This is stupid! Who's put you up to this?"

"Could you stay focused please Mr. Savage, save your questions till the interview."

XxxXxxX

"So, Mr. Savage can you tell us where you were yesterday at 11:25?"

"I was at work. Where else would I be?"

"Do you know a Daniel Tippet?"

"Nope."

"Do you know anyone who had access to the company car? The one only you and one other barrister are insured to?"

"Nope."

"Did you know the car had been taken?"

"No alright! I didn't! And I had NOTHING to do with what happened to Rach"

"Can you tell me what you know about what Rachel knows about you sleeping with the juror?"

"I know that she wouldn't tell on me. She loves me. She promised. We are getting married"

"I don't think that's exactly true is it? Didn't Rachel threaten to tell on you the other night? Because that's when it would seem you proposed to her. Did you do that because you knew she wanted that and it would keep her quiet?"

"NO!"

"Could you not trust her after her little outburst? Did you think you would hire someone to kill her for you, keep your hands clean and if it goes wrong then you could only get done for assisted murder?"

"No."

"Interview terminated, 13:28"

Kevin left the office and ran straight up to the video room. "Boss I know it was him. I know it was. The way he's acting, I know it is. We need more though, there's nothing on him, he can create excuses, and we need so much more, anything! Any connections between the Tippet lad and Savage? Anyone know of any information? Boss it's him, it's him! We need to get him Boss!" Kevin was getting more and more agitated. Gill had NEVER seen him like this. "Kevin calm down will you? We will get him, don't worry. Bail him for now, remember we are treading on eggshells, let's try and keep him sweet. Go and bail him, we'll keep looking…" "…oh and by the way Kevin, good work today. Keep this up, and you _may_ become more tolerant" Gill added, looking back towards the computer screen.

Kevin just smiled, and ran out of the room.

XxxXxxX

"So you understand your terms and conditions?"

"Yeah"

"And you understand that this is only a temporary bail and we have the right to bring you in at any time?"

"Yes"

"Right. Well of you go then"

Kevin ushered the barrister out of the station, ignoring his huffing and puffing as he went.

XxxXxxX

"Rachel? Are you alive? Wake up you silly cow. What do you think you're playing at? You won't get away with this one you know. Trying to frame me, it won't work. I'm a barrister, I've come across enough cases in my time, I know how to wriggle out of things. Close call today huh? Nearly got sent down. It's a shame that Kevin isn't any good. Quite sad isn't it? That this time, your little "crew" aren't here to save you. Looks like your time are up Bailey, you should've thought about what was coming out of that gob of yours before; then none of this would be happening…"

The gruff voice lent across the brunette, getting closer to her face, reaching towards the machine.

"Well, there's no way you're getting out of this one is there? Janet's not here to 'mummy' you, and Gill's so far up her own backside she can't see anything, or find anything, she's not that good…"

The hand slid up the wall and the fingers clenched across the switch, as the man leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Sweet dreams Bailey. Sleep tight"


	3. Chapter 3

**ok, hope this is okay, this is for Megan, because she is very persistant;') **

**please review as usual! **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3:**

Kevin burst through the doors of hospital and skidded towards the reception. "I'm here to see Rachel Bailey. It's urgent; I'm DC Lumb, Manchester Metropolitan Police" "Down the corridor, turn right, first room on your left" the receptionist replied, looking slightly concerned by the fact a constable had run in wearing cycling shorts, a bright jacket and a beanie, but she let it slip this once as the man was halfway down the corridor already.

_That looks so much like Nick. _Kevin thought, looking down the other end of the hall to see a man running away from him. He didn't think anything of it as he pushed open the door…

"Rachel! Rachel guess what!" Kevin burst into the side room, to find the pulse rates slowly fading. They weren't bleeping at a steady rate, and they weren't bleeping crazy as if she was having a relapse. He ran over to the side of her and hit the emergency button. Even he could tell someone had messed with the machines, but he didn't dwell on it too long. "No! Rachel! NO! What's going on?! Someone help her!"

Four or five doctors ran in, pushing Kevin away from Rachel. By now tears were streaming down his face, he didn't know what to do. He was lead out of the room by a doctor, who wasn't looking any more in the know that Kevin was.

"Ok, well it appears someone has turned off her machine. Without it she will die. We have no idea how long it could take for the body to shut down completely and the blood to stop circulating, every patient is different. She could go in a few minutes, or still be with us in a couple of hours. We are going to do the best to save her, the life support is back on, but _if _her body is too far past, the machine will bleep rapidly as soon as is functioning. I'm very sorry. The only thing we can do for her now is hope the machine wil l switch on in time to help her heart. We shall leave you alone, call anyone you want to, you know… just in case. Talk to her about any happy memories, anything that will make both of you more relaxed"

Kevin crept back into the room as it began to empty. He fetched his phone out and text Janet saying _'Get to the hospital now, don't ask questions just come, and bring Gill and whoever. Bye x'. _He threw his phone on the chair and walked over to Rachel, reaching for her hand. There was no movement, and barely any pulse.

He tried to fight back his tears as he sat down, dragging the chair close to the bed. "Rachel, I'm just going to come out and say this… I love you. I love you with all my heart and I'm saying this now because I may never get a chance to tell you if you don't pull through. You probably don't feel the same and I'm sorry that I'm telling you this now because you've obviously got other things on your mind but I have to get it off my chest. I love you Rachel Bailey. Always have, always will. Please don't leave me Rachel. If you pull through I promise to share my cheese and pickle sandwich. Honest! You can have the part with more cheese if you like. Or pickle, you can choose"

He tried to give a weak laugh to lighten the situation, but it came out more as a squeak. It reminded him of the time he went to the farm when he was younger, and he couldn't stop laughing at two pigs chasing each other.

He snapped out of his daydream and stroked her hair. He hadn't noticed that the machine had come back on, and the lines were slowly increasing. "How do you manage to look beautiful even like this? I remember that once at the Christmas party and you walked into the bar stool, tripping over? Or that once I said something and you went "oh look, there's a flying cow" and I took you literally? That was a letdown. What about that once when we held that surprise party for Gill, and I accidently landed it on her blouse. That's something we don't want to relive…"

He let down a deep sigh. "Please wake up Rachel. I won't know what to do with my life if I can't see you every day. Who am I going to annoy? Seriously Rachel, I won't be able to live. You make me _want _to go to work every morning and that's not something I say often. You know, everyone loves you Rachel, even Godzilla. She can be a bitch to you, but that's only because she cares. I'm going to find out who did this to you Rachel, not just the car accident- incident, but who tried to end your life for good, and I've a good mind I know who, I've just got to prove it…somehow"

He squeezed her hand and shut his eyes. He _still _hadn't noticed that the machine next to him had come back on. He jumped as someone touched his cheek. He leaned back on his chair too far and tipped, balancing on the two back legs. "You can never stay out of trouble can you?" a weak voice murmured. "Rachel! You're alive!" Kevin gushed, standing up. "Oh thank God for that, I thought I had come back as a ghost" she moaned, taking off her oxygen mask. "No don't do that! Don't! You need it to breathe!" Kevin panicked.

"Kev it's fine, I can manage a couple of sentences. You know, I had the weirdest dream. In fact, it was more like a nightmare. I dreamt that Nick had tried to turn off my life support, he came in saying all this stuff about how no-one would work out it was him and he mentioned something about Gill…I don't know. Also there was something to do with you-" she placed her mask back on her mouth for a couple of seconds, and then continued "you were saying something about how much you loved me or something!" she laughed, and Kevin sat there awkwardly.

She let out a gasp when she realized. "Oh my gosh! It wasn't a dream was it?! Nick tried to kill me?! You love me?!" she put her mask back on her mouth and lay still for a couple of minutes.

"Look Rachel, we will get Nick, don't you worry. Just focus on getting better, and I don't know…it's hard. Every time you walk through that door I get a weird feeling. When I found you were in an accident I panicked. I was determined to catch whoever did this, but I failed didn't I? I nearly forfeited your life. I should've picked up on it sooner. I should've charged him there and then; I shouldn't have let him out of my sight. I just-"

"Kevin, shut up for a second. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault! Blame Nick; blame the scumbag that drove that car. You have done nothing apart from try and protect me and that's really sweet. Kevin, I need to ask you something…what you were saying about loving me…did you mean it?"

Kevin looked into the brunettes eyes. Her skin was pale and she looked drained, but even then she looked beautiful. "Yes. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. I don't want to lose you Rachel, and although you don't know it yet you are the single most important thing in my life at the moment. I needed to tell you…in case it got too late."

"Oh Kevin, come here. Give us a hug. I would suggest a kiss but I can't breathe for long. If I get better, you can take me out sometime yeah?"

"Ok, but it's not _if _you get better; it's _when _you get better" Kevin replied, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I hope so Kev, I really hope so" she said, shutting her eyes.

XxxXxxX

"What's going on?!"Gill spluttered, bursting through the doors. She didn't give Kevin time to say anything. He stood up and opened his mouth to receive a smack around his cheek. "Aw! Boss! What was that for?!" "YOU!" she said, pointing her finger at him. "You see this?" she shouted picking up his phone. "This is called a phone. You use it to answer texts and phone calls. You DO NOT text Janet, then abandon her. You have scared the living daylights out of us. WHAT is going on?!"

"Well someone messed with her machine! The lines were dying down as I came in and I saw someone running away from the room earlier and he looked a bit like Nick but the doctor said he didn't know how long it would take for her body to shut down completely and how that if the machines didn't turn on in time then she wouldn't be saved so I text you to come just in case and my phones on silent and I sat with her for a bit and I talked to her and she opened her eyes!" Kevin concluded, sitting down. "She is going to be ok but she is really ill and back on a ventilator. They have put the other tubes back in as well" he quietly added.

"Yes, thank you for that last bit Doctor Skeptismo. I hadn't noticed" Gill replied, glancing at Rachel. She walked towards her and sat down, taking hold of her hand. Janet slipped in behind her and sat next to Gill. "How you doing Kid? We'll get whoever did this, don't worry. I've sent Kevin out to call Andy, let him know we need to pick Savage up urgently. There's no way he'll be able to talk his way out of this one" she squeezed the younger woman's hand, and let go, placing it back on the bed.

Janet and Gill looked at each other, unsure of what to say or how to break the silence. They didn't need to; Rachel turned slightly, opening her eyes and looking straight at her Boss. "Hi…hi Boss" "Gill. It's Gill. How you doing Kid?" "Not bad. I feel ten times worse than I look though" she said, smiling at Janet. "You look beautiful! For someone who's had seven shades of shit took out of them you look fine" Janet persisted.

"Where's Kevin?"

"He's just gone to phone Andy and get some drinks" Gill said.

"And to get some ice" Janet added quietly, earning herself a stare from Gill

"Um…why ice?"

"Let's just say there was a technical fault" Gill replied huskily

"What? What do you mean?"

"Basically Rach, Gill's trying to say she decked him" Janet said simply.

"You did what? Gill, even for you, isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Well he's been asking for it. It will pass; he just needs to remember which side his breads buttered"

"Or which side his ice should be" Janet muttered.

"Have you quite finished?" Gill replied, turning to face her.

"Now, now girlies. Behave. I need to talk to Kevin, so when he comes back in is there any way you could shuffle outside?"

"Why?"

"I just need to talk to him about something"

"What?"

"Gosh Gill you're so nosy. Yes of course we will Rach"

"I'm not nosy! I just care about the well-being of my constables, and find out things from others!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say"

"Do you want to go and wonder in the hall by yourself Janet Scott?"

"No, but can I just say?-"

"No you can't Janet, shush now"

"Well I'm going to anyway. Gill knows more secrets than you've had hot dinners Rach. She stands up against walls with her stethoscope and cup"

Rachel began to giggle, but soon stopped when she felt her heart strain.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine; I just obviously can't laugh yet"

"Right, well here's Kevin. We'll go and have a talk to the doctor, see if he can give us an ETA for when you're going to be better" Gill said, standing up.

"ETA, Gill?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Expected Time of Arrival"

"What?"

"That's what it means. I don't think that getting better comes on a train or anything"

"What?!"

"Never mind, come on!" Janet dragged Gill out of the room and left Kevin and Rachel alone.

"What was all that about?" Kevin asked, placing his cup down.

"I have no idea, I'll just put it down to old age" Rachel said chuckling. "Kevin, what you said earlier, I know I said you can take me out and that, but _if _I don't make it, it will be wasted. So I'm going to say it now. I l-. I love-"

Rachel's eyes closed.

Kevin felt as if his heart had been ripped out.

He grabbed her hand and sat down.

"Rachel don't do this to me. Please don't do this to me"

He kissed her hand.

She opened her eyes.

"Are you _trying _to scare me?"

"What happened there?"

"You tell me"

"I have no idea...I love you Kevin"

"I love you to Rachel"

"Everything's going to be ok isn't it?"

"Yes of course! You've got me now; I'll never let anyone hurt you"

"You're very cute Kevin"

"I know I am thanks"

"Cheeky buggar"

"I suppose you are to"

"You suppose? Gee thanks"

"No problem. I'm going to find Gill and Janet. I don't know what's got into them two lately"

"Nor me…I see what she meant by needing ice though"

"Oh yeah, well…get a bit of rest, I'll be back in a minute"

"I'll try"

"Good girl"


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, this is the last chapter I think, hope its ok!**

**Sorry it's taken so long to post, schools taking over!**

**Hope this is ok, this is for Megan!**

**Enjoy xox**

**Chapter 4:**

"So tell me, what was your favourite bedtime story?"

"Um I don't know! I quite liked the one about a sandwich…I'm not sure if I can remember it much now, but that was cute. I also really liked the Velveteen rabbit that was my favourite bedtime story…ok you're turn, what is your favourite type of cheese?"

Kevin looked at his girlfriend. They were at the hospital, Kevin had his feet up on the edge of the bed eating crisps, and Rachel was messing around on her phone.

He didn't have time to reply, when the doctor came into the door with some paper. "Are you ready? Here are your papers, you will have to take them to the GP next week, when you can walk for longer, and they will give you any last medications etc."

"Thank you so much Doc. I really couldn't be any more grateful honestly, I owe you so much" Rachel said, standing up. Kevin rushed around to the other side, grabbed her hand. "Steady now" he said, coaxing her towards the door.

"It's ok Kev, I can walk from here"

Kevin just nodded, picking up her bag and turning to the doctor. "Thank you so much" he said, shaking the doctor's hand. "It's quite alright. Take care Rachel" The doctor replied as they left the room.

They made their way out of the hospital and got in a taxi. "Come on, let's go home. I don't know about you but I am shattered" Kevin said, holding open the door for her.

"You're tired? Why? You've done nothing!" Rachel retorted, throwing her bag between her legs. "I've been up most the nights worrying about you! I think I've aged about 20 years! Look! I'm getting wrinkles!" Kevin spluttered, pointing at his face.

"Oh come off it! You're just squidging your face together!"

"Squidging?"

"Never mind"

XxxXxxX

It was five days after Rachel had been discharged from hospital. She was making her way into work for the morning, just to ease herself back in, and because she wanted to be there when savage was charged. Gill hadn't wanted her to come in, she said it may upset her too much, but Rachel had been insistent she was seeing that bastard go down.

They were waiting outside the customs desk as the uniformed officer walked savage forward. He looked up and immediately spotted Rachel. "Rachel, baby! I didn't do it I swear! I didn't mess with your machine either! I came to see how you were I was worried! There was nothing wrong with the machine when I left! It must be someone trying to set me up! Aren't you going to say anything? Help me out here!" Nick screeched as the other officer read out the terms and conditions.

"I think you've damaged me enough Nick. If not with this, with all the lying and cheating, kicking me out when I had just lost our baby, treating me like shit, picking me back up when you knew I could ruin your life. You thought it would be better if you just ended it yeah? Made sure my mouth was shut once and for all! Well you know what Nick? Save your pathetic excuses. I'll see you in court" Rachel said, storming back up the stairs, Janet following close behind.

"Gill was right. I shouldn't have come in. I shouldn't… it's just upset me more. How dare he try and lie? We have too much evidence. We couldn't get any more even if he confessed. He's a scumbag. Why me Jan? How did I get stuck with such a loser? And then fall for it again. I should've listened Jan, I'm so sorry…I am so sorry" Rachel began to sob, crying harder when Janet hugged her.

"Don't be stupid. You weren't to know what an idiot he was, you just got the short straw. I don't blame you for going back to him, he was cunning. I'm just glad you're ok now and that you've come out of this the brighter side. He won't see daylight for a good 20 years now, don't worry about him" Janet replied, turning slightly when everyone else came back in.

Rachel pulled away and wiped her eyes, reaching for a mini cupcake someone had made for her first day back. She scooped the icing off the top and licked her fingers. "Where's Kevin?" she asked, popping the last bit of cake into her mouth. "He said he had to change, he has a surprise or something…I'm not quite sure, I don't know. He said something about a sandwich…he was buying one? I don't know" Mitch concluded.

At that moment the door to the office swung open, and Kevin walked in, dressed in some sort of costume. Rachel began to chuckle, and glanced at Janet whose eyes were wide staring at Gill. "Kev, what are you?" she squealed, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing.

"I'm a bunny!" Kevin replied. "I'm supposed to be the velveteen rabbit! You said earlier it was your favourite story, and I thought you would be depressed after Nick so I thought I would cheer you up!"

Mitch began to snigger, then Gill snorted and everyone erupted into laughter. Kevin stood there in his bunny costume, false teeth hanging from his mouth, not looking impressed. "Oh Kevin bless you!" Rachel said, walking up to him. She kissed him and he gave her a hug, wrapping his 'paws' around her.

Rachel reached over his shoulder and pulled a carrot from the back pocket that was half squished. "Care to explain?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, yeah well I thought I would get a carrot, you know, make the costume realistic, but I think I sat on it in the car and squashed it…" he flushed a bright pink, unsure of what to say.

"Well it's the thought that counts I suppose, so come on everyone! Cake!" Gill said, jumping in front on Pete who had tried to reach for a slice. "Ay ay ay! Bosses first thank you!" she said, grabbing the piece with the most icing.

"So come on then?" Kevin asked, whilst everyone else was chattering on the other side of the office, Kevin and Rachel sat on his desk, pulling his bunny ears. "What do you think of the costume then? You have to admit, it's pretty fetching" he said.

"It's very sexy." Rachel grinned.

"Maybe I should dress up as a bunny more often then, if I get comments like that" Kevin replied, biting into his carrot.

"Or maybe you should just think with your heart instead of your mouth more"

After seeing Kevin's confused face, she added "It was really sweet Kevin, thank you. I'm starting to see a different side to you now, it's cute. You're not so much of a knob as I thought you were"

"Excuse me missy!" Kevin said, poking her.

Rachel began to laugh and so did Kevin. "Come here you idiot" he said, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed her cheek and whispered; "Everything's going to be ok from now on. No-one will hurt my princess ever again; I'll make sure of that"

**Finished;D **

**Pleeeeeasseee review? *puppy dog eyes***


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